Chapter 27 Dinner Party with a Twist

ooms fell silent. In one of these classrooms sat Su Cen; everyone had their own single desk with a white slip bearing their randomized test number pasted on it in front. There were two stern-looking i...Chapter 27: A Dinner Party with a Twist

The aunt cast a somewhat resentful glance at her brother, seemingly reproaching him for being even more anxious than she was and revealing Su Cen's scores prematurely without letting everyone speculate.

"Look at your big brother; he acts more like Buddha than anyone else on a daily basis. Today, however, he’s the most impatient!" The aunt chuckled to explain it away, in her eyes, Su Cen was completely different now.

Everyone laughed at what the aunt said, but the eldest uncle didn't feel quite comfortable.

Mother looked proudly at Su Cen. Father Su Licheng had a hint of pride in his eyes; even he, as the big brother, no longer wore that stern expression, and thus felt more gratified about having such an excellent son.

The younger brother Zeng Yuan suddenly changed his face.

Earlier, he was going to mention the score of a cousin sister from their mother's side who was in Su Cen’s grade level to provoke him. Hearing Su Cen's scores now, however, made him finally understand why his older sister had changed her attitude towards Su Cen and viewed him differently. Although Zeng Yuan wasn't much aware of high school grades, getting over six hundred points felt like scoring above ninety in every exam he took currently. He naturally looked at this elder brother with jealousy while also regarding him with new respect. At the same time, he began to worry that once his protective umbrella was gone, he would be the first target for everyone's criticism.

"Over six hundred points!" The aunt’s younger brother Zeng Zhaoding widened his eyes in surprise, "That's amazing!"

Recently, the middle school entrance examination had become a hot topic of discussion in Xihaicheng. He naturally knew what getting over six hundred points meant; scores at this level among children of high officials and wealthy merchants he recently met during dinner parties were rare. Even those who occasionally scored above six hundred during tests were considered focal figures, although there was certainly some flattery involved from others around them. Nevertheless, it still represented a high score advantage—scores in the three to four hundreds would not garner such compliments even if one's father was a provincial party secretary.

So his most direct manifestation was a few days ago, when the son of the Industry and Commerce Bureau director estimated his score to be 540, while his cousin Su Cen竟然比工商局長的兒子高出一百來分。這與他印象中的情況有很大的反差。

"How could that not happen!" His aunt spoke up in support of Su Cen first. "Didn't Zeng Ke tell us earlier Recently, Su Cen has been working very hard! He doesn’t go out to hang out with Liu Wei and those guys at night; he stays home reading books and doing test papers. I said it before, Su Cen is such a smart boy. If he puts in more effort, what can't a boy achieve His potential is huge!"

"Is there any possibility that his previous scores were so poor, yet suddenly became so good" The elder sister turned away with an unsatisfied look, her gaze revealing some confusion: how could this brother of hers who used to have abysmal grades manage to score six hundred points in such a short time And even more impressively, 645 high scores. Could it really be due to the review before the entrance exam What kind of review is so effective She couldn't immediately accept these changes.

"Would you like to drink" Uncle Zeng Quanming surprisingly raised his wine glass and signaled towards Su Cen, which left everyone stunned.

Zeng Zhouding sighed. This kid's score was indeed shocking; no wonder even the usually strict Zeng Quanming didn't care about the ashtray incident earlier. He never expected such a change. Only he understood when his older brother would be so proactive in inviting someone to drink.

Even if it were leaders or peers, there were few who could make him initiate an invitation for drinks; several times, unit leaders had to proactively clink glasses with him to avoid awkwardness, leaving the leaders somewhat displeased.

This was also where Zeng Zhouding felt his older brother fell short. He said he stood out in ability, but if only he were a bit more tactful around personnel matters and less arrogant when drinking with leaders, who would harbor resentment towards him His career advancement had been swift indeed.

Older Dad Su Licheng still hesitated. "This young man should drink less..."

Su Cen then directly picked up the Wuliangye bottle his uncle opened and filled his glass, finishing it in one go.

The toast with Uncle Big must be taken without fail.

Everyone was stunned; none of them expected Su Cen to be so straightforward. Even Uncle Big was taken aback. He usually detests it when the younger generation drinks alcohol, yet today he inexplicably felt in a good mood and smiled for the first time ever, finishing his drink.

The family stood there dumbfounded; Uncle Big rarely smiles but this sudden smile, though harsh to hear, was enough to shake everyone.

"The ashtray you broke last time saved me from a loss of twenty thousand," Uncle Big set down his wine glass and finally spoke the words that stunned everyone at the table.

"What! Twenty thousand" Auntie Big, who had never interacted much with her brother-in-law and was hearing this for the first time today, nearly lost her footing in shock.

“What! Twenty thousand!” Even Cousin Cao Ding, who usually likes to provoke Uncle Big by mentioning his income, was stunned. After all, twenty thousand is not a small sum of money these days, enough to start a company in Xiahai City, and he knew that the toy store he owned would take about twenty thousand.

As for the so-called tens of thousands coming and going, it was just Cousin Cao Ding's boss’s money and had nothing to do with him.

"A cup can't be too full; a bow that is pulled too taut will break. A person who is too proud will feel ashamed!" Seeing everyone's shocked expressions, Uncle Big cleared his throat: "The stock market operates on this principle. When Su Cen broke my ashtray that day, I was pondering whether to sell or hold onto my stocks for the past few days. In the end, I decided to sell early and fortunately did so as the stock prices began plummeting last week! If I hadn't sold in time, I would've lost nearly twenty thousand!"

Only then did the family regain their composure from their shock; they understood why Uncle Big had chosen such an upscale venue for the gathering. He must have made a hefty profit on the stock market. The celebratory mood immediately intensified, with parents especially delighted to learn that Su Cen accidentally breaking the ashtray prompted Uncle Zhuming’s deep thoughts and led to rational decision-making, avoiding risks. Although Uncle Big was the principal actor in this scenario, Su Cen's inadvertent action played a crucial role as well.

Cousin Zhaoding Sang also raised his glass to join in the family's joy, but he secretly glanced at Su Cun during this process. His impression of Su Cun changed once again; he didn't expect that kid to have such abilities.

Thinking about Su Cun’s excellent performance in the high school entrance examination and how it had now helped Uncle Sang without any effort, their parents were overjoyed as well. Dad Sang Licheng kept toasting with Uncle Sang, and the two seemed興致勃勃，平時瞧不起蘇父的曾全明今天也對他格外順眼，連聲要他和曾珂照顧好蘇燦，說這小子未來前途無量，一家人都跟著沾光。

Su Cun privately felt lucky. He hadn't expected the situation to come so suddenly; he had originally thought that the stock market would follow the flood and plummet, leading Uncle Sang to suffer losses. However, individual stocks showed significant differences. The few stocks in Uncle Sang's hands experienced a short-term surge followed by a sudden crash. By chance, with Uncle Sang cooperating perfectly, they managed to avoid the risk. Otherwise, without waiting for the chaos caused by the flood, Uncle Sang would have already been heavily defeated.

"I don't plan on continuing my investment. With such a big profit, I’ll allocate some funds to support Zeng Ke’s stationery business. Besides, the stock market is currently in a downturn; it's best to observe for now. If I decide to invest again, I won’t go beyond ten thousand...," when everyone asked Uncle Sang about his stocks, he clearly replied, not like Cousin Zhaoding who wanted to join in as soon as they heard about potential profits and ask Uncle Sang to manage their investments. This statement temporarily put an end to those ideas.

At the banquet, Cousin Zhaoding noticed several important city officials and wealthy businessmen at nearby tables and quickly went over to greet them. The few merchants from Xiahai City obviously recognized Uncle Sang as well and came over with their drinks; such social engagements were common.

Uncle Sang had been drinking quite a bit earlier with Dad, and he was in high spirits. He capitalized on the alcohol-induced courage to visit the other tables and toasted Vice Mayor Lei Lijing, who oversees commerce and urban planning, causing Deputy Mayor Lei Lijing to be taken aback.

Uncle Sang was known for his stubborn personality and arrogant attitude, looking down on everyone. Yet this time, he unexpectedly said several flattering words, with Vice Mayor Lei Lijing being the official in charge that Uncle Sang valued most, though he rarely mentioned it.

Vice Mayor Lei Lijing was already surprised by Uncle Sang's unexpected toast; during the last evaluation for outstanding individuals at the agency, he had been the one to nominate Uncle Sang, only to be ignored with a dismissive attitude from Uncle Sang. This left Vice Mayor Lei Lijing feeling disgruntled. Today’s sudden change of attitude from Uncle Sang made him feel both flattered and surprised. As an undersecretary-level vice mayor facing a director-level chief at the Construction Office, such feelings were quite amusing to contemplate.

Cousin Zhaoming's remark during his wine-induced excitement, "I admire your proposal for citywide reform!" struck right at Vice Mayor Lei Lijing’s heart. This was also the boldest attempt in his political career, fraught with danger and pressure, surrounded by flatterers as well as opponents.ade Xiao Rihua feel guilty himself and doubt whether there really wasn’t anything between him and Tang Wu. No way! The sight of them holding hands had been so clear to him—he hadn't mistaken it for pr...